Guess you can't win 'em all. That reminds me, was/is there a big police supply shop across the street from the old police academy in NYC? I have a flashlight a guy said he bought himself the day he graduated in 1974.
I'm 99% sure I know the one you mean. Can't recall the name off the top of my head. It too went out of business, and quite frankly; good riddance! It was always advertised as a police supply shop. So obviously certain things were off-limits to civilian customers. I had actually called ahead, spoke with an employee, and asked if non-LEOs were Welcome there. He said sure, come on in. They had been advertising a certain hard-to-find SureFire filter at the time.
I go in, and I get treated like garbage by the owner when he realizes I'm not an LEO. I ask about the filter, he responds as though I asked him if he has any erotic pics. of his mom for sale. Angerly tells me that THAT is a special order item only, and of course he has none in stock. At the time, I was looking to get a SureFire M6. Figured since I was there, I'd ask if he had any in stock.
Oh boy! Que a massively angry rant from that low-life piece of worthless trash. He went on for a couple of minutes ranting & raving about how his LEO customers want and need "real" flashlights. And, how those are the only models he stocks at HIS shop because he doesn't cater to collectors who want
silly lights. How he stocks SureFire 6P and 9P models. Along with Streamlight Stingers, Strions, and spare batteries for them. 3D-cell Incandescent Maglites, and MagChargers. And, how dare I ask him about an M6; unless I meant the Pelican M6.
At that point I realized I was clearly dealing with an angry EDP. (What the police refer to as an Emotionally Disturbed Person.) I was a much younger man, and far more tolerant of an individual person's idiot views of the world and certain topics. I thanked him, wished him a good day, and walked out. Considering the shop completely went out of business several years later, I'm guessing I'm not the only one whom this nut-job convinced to never return, and spend their money elsewhere.
The whole thing on his part was just stupid. This was back when buying stuff off of the internet and waiting for it to arrive on your door was still unheard of! No one did that. You either got a catalog in the mail, filled out the order form, along with a check or money order, mailed that off; and waited for weeks to get your stuff. Or, you called a business, gave them your credit card number, while speaking to an actual human-being; then waited a bit less to get your order. But this was at a time where if you lived in a big city.... You went and bought what you wanted in-person! And, that last option was the one most people back then were used to and preferred! Heck, back then Amazon was just a tiny start-up that sold books.
Everyone expected it to go out of business within 2 years when Barnes & Noble's or Borders would either crush them or buy them out for a few bucks.
I can just imagine all of the civilians this angry idiot excuse for a businessman alienated until he went out of business. Don't like collectors? You're a businessman. Guess whose going to spend the most amount of money in your store buying up inventory, and coming back consistently to buy more. Yeah, it's not going to be officer Bill who just graduated from the police academy; and purchased a Streamlight Stinger from you. You're not going to see him for about 8 years when he finally comes back and buys one new rechargeable battery-stick for that very same Stinger. You'd think a business owner during that era would have more brains than that. Guess not!
Edit:
Typo.
